27 November 2010

The ladies had the full week of school off. We had plenty of playdates.

Lots of Rock Band. Day or Night? Still jammin'....

We had visits with family. This is Jim Ball, James' Dad. The truck is Jeannie, named for his wife. Rachel, Jay and I went down to meet Popop Jim at work and Rachel got to drive and park the big truck! She was so excited. Jay got to ride and that was thrilling enough for him. He told me, "I ride big tuck, Momma."

We had plenty of artwork and playing school. Tons of jumping on the trampoline and playing at parks. I wasn't kidding when I said beautiful weather. The only rain we had was on Thanksgiving Day.

And, a turkey. Funny story - our house was struck by lightening, and a few random things quit working - one of which was the oven. So, I cooked it at our friend's house (thanks again, Krista) and the picture of Charlotte above is her guarding the finished turkey on its journey to our house to eat it! Her name was Alice and she was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself...

We have so very much to be grateful for. Thank you to all of you for even reading the blog and leaving comments. Each of you, near and far, old and new, family and friends, touch our lives and we are grateful for each of you. Happy Thanksgiving from the BallTeam!

20 November 2010

As a start to Thanksgiving week, I just wanted to share our newest tradition - the Gratitude Calendar. Each day, each family member adds something to the calendar for which he or she is grateful. No repeats. We all help Jay, since he is only two. Otherwise, he would be thankful for footballs and basketballs every day. I know this picture may be hard to make out, but, the list includes sweet and humbling entries like - my parents, testimonies and Jesus; to fun and whimsical entries like - slippers, candy and elbows. In all, by Thanksgiving on the 25th, we should have 175 entries!

19 November 2010

Charlotte has developed a new style. Bandannas. She won't leave the house or even come out of her room without one. The school lets her wear them; even though they felt it necessary to explain to me that hats are not permitted, they will allow her bandanna since it more closely resembles a headband. Charlotte started the bandanna craze when she got a haircut she didn't like. I think she did a great job of turning what she saw as a negative into a new, stylin' positive. Way to go, Charlotte!

Last week we had some inCREDidble weather. Just perfect. And to boot, the ladies had a day off of school so the teachers could attend some professional training meeting. We can't stay inside with the weather so beautiful outside, so we grabbed our friends and hit the playgrounds. Of the six kiddos in this picture, only three are mine. My older ladies were at friends' houses and I took the little set here playground hopping. We hit three playgrounds, having lunch somewhere in there, too. When school is out we love to go play at playgrounds of schools we don't attend. Fresh Air and Friends!

09 November 2010

Our comings and gong, but, not quite enough for a full sized post. This is the Halloween candy fun-sized version.... :)

Our backyard doesn't have much grass. It's mainly dirt. We have tons of shade trees, which are great for shade, but, not so great for growing grass. Shade trees are also great for producing leaves in the fall. This week the ladies raked up the leaves and we had a bonfire. Complete with marshmallows. Good work ladies. We'll do it again next week...

Josephine has curly hair. It's just adorable. This week for church, though, she decided she wanted it straight and Rachel obliged. Which do you like better?

First picture: Charlotte is reading Charlotte's Web with her class. She's read books before, but, this one was exciting because she was the center of attention, since she shared the name in the title. She says she's the spider of her classroom! Charlotte even brought her own copy of the book to class (a Christmas gift from her grandparents last year.) When her class is finished with the book, they'll watch the movie. Second picture: Jay and "K" and I went to the grocery store this week. I filled the cart, and Jay had to be a big boy -- he had to walk AND hold the cart. This was his first time and he was great. Such the little man.